build against tsarnaev, have they made the right decision invoking the public safety exception for and not reading him his miranda rights? >> i think absolutely, considering the events on patriots day in terms of explosive devices, the fact that they uncovered other explosive material and devices, certainly public safety has to be law enforcement's greatest concern. you try to get as much information to protect the public from potential devices being out there and or whether or not there's other members of the cell out there planning similar events. >> we know police are saying they found handguns, a rifle, six bombs at the shootout scene. what does that tell you about what they were planning? >> it tells you they weren't done certainly, which obviously is fortunate they were able to prevent them from the next event. obviously if they can uncover any other devices that might be out there that poses public safety risk, that's important as

well. >> you tried richard reed in criminal court and got a conviction. others that say, saxby chambliss bliss most prominent among them, that tsarnaev should be tried perhaps as enemy combatant, not even in u.s. criminal court. what do you think of that? >> i think the department in the military has to at least make that assessment, does it make more sense to determine he is an enemy combatant and hold him as that to protect national security and security interests. they have to make a judgment about this. hopefully they're going through the process. >> he is a u.s. citizen, naturalized. if you were successful in trying the shoe bomber, why is our criminal court system not good enough for a u.s. citizen, richard reed wasn't a u.s. citizen, he was a british citizen.

>> yes. first off, reed matter came in shortly after 9/11, so the infrastructure with regard to identifying somebody, designating someone as enemy combatant. >> legal structure wasn't there. >> the process wasn't there to do that. here it is a little different. and our government has held somebody as a u.s. citizen on u.s. soil as an enemy combatant, so the united states supreme court hasn't fully made a decision regarding a u.s. citizen being held as enemy combatant, haven't determined that you can't, but -- >> what was the padilla decision. he was an american citizen. >> he was held. >> but the supreme court ruled -- >> never addressed the issue, the issue got resolved a different way. when you talk about this particular case, why consider holding him as enemy combatant, has to be about national security and national interest. can we learn something from this person by holding as enemy

combatant that enhances national security, national interests that we can't learn through a federal prosecution. we don't know that sitting here, but that's something at least the folks within the military and department of justice should go through in terms of the thought process. what's in the best interest of the american public and national security and national interest. >> to close this point, part of what's in the interest of the american public one could argue would be preserving rights in the constitution and what exists already. >> right. >> one could make that argument. >> yes, but this doesn't take any of those rights away. if the determination is that con current jurisdiction presently between the military in civilian courts, no rights have been violated or lost because the united states supreme court already said the government has those two options. the point is this. certainly we can successfully prosecute this person in the federal system. we can pursue a death penalty against him. are we enhancing national security, national interests by

doing that. can we learn something by holding him as an enemy combatant. if you decide to hold him as that, it doesn't forfeit the opportunity to turn him back to civilian courts at some point in time. i am just suggesting the government should go through the process of making a fully informed decision about whether or not one jurisdiction is better for us than the other. >> i appreciate it. mike sullivan, thanks so much for joining us. boston is beginning to return to normal. we can get a sense of that at fenway park where the red sox are back in action now. before the first pitch, there was a solemn moment of silence. >> as we think of our 176 adults and children who were injured, including mbta officer richard donahue, won't you join us as we observe a moment of silence, contemplation and player, and in particular for the 58 who are still hospitalized.

thank you. we wish each of you a speedy recovery. >> i got my red sox hat back on, and i'm going back to john berman at the ballpark. how many times do i have to put on the hat today? >> all day, it warms my heart. that voiceover before the game gave me chills. there were so many moments that gave so many of us chills. there was a moment of silence, there was the entire crowd singing the national anthem in unison. there were victims of the marathon bombings on the field, there were first responders on the field. they showed images on the scoreboard of the marathon itself, and people simply applauded and there were tears in the crowd. it was very moving. the team themselves are wearing

special shirts. instead of home whites that say red sox on them, today they say boston on the front. players are going to sign the shirts and they will be auctioned off after the game, money given to the one fund, the fund for victims and families. the team has rallied around the city in so many ways. and the city and state, red sox nation is responding. fans flooded to the ballpark today, really wanted to be part of this moment, part of something special. especially after what they have been through in the last week. i met with a group of young students from boston college. yesterday these students were shut in, were part of the lockdown, told to shelter in place in their dorms. you could see they were going stir crazy. today, they were giddy to be at the game. let's listen. >> so much better at the baseball game. we're from all over the country, all came to boston, fell in love, people are attacking it,

now we fixed it. let's go. >> now we fixed it. >> how much do you like the red sox? >> love the red sox. >> reporter: go red sox. there's more of a security presence here, jake. it took a long time for people to get into the stadium, there were extra sweeps. i talked to a lot of people. no one said they were concerned about their safety, they were glad to be out. there is one concern, it is the middle of the fourth inning and there's no score in the game. red sox have to put runs on the board, jake. >> well, that should be the least of our problems today. john, who else is at the game other than some of the survivors and some of the victims, some of the lum narrows. is will buck ner, wade boggs, any of boston royalty? >> i'm not going to let you get under my skin, jake. there's an interesting rumor

around fenway, which is that neil diamond is at the game now. why is that significant? neil diamond sinks sweet caroline. they play it at the bottom of the eighth for years. if he comes out and sinks that line, man, oh, man, it will shake this place down. >> that would be incredible. keep it up, keep having fun. great day for boston. coming up, cnn exclusive, we track down the father of the bombing suspects and hear what he has to say. we go live to dagestan when we return. ♪

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welcome back to cnn's continuing coverage of the terrorist attacks in boston. the father of the bombing suspects tells cnn he is coming to the united states. he says his sons were framed and were not responsible for the terrorist attack. nick was able to track down the father for the first time since the younger son was captured. nick, tell us about that

encounter. >> reporter: well, his apartment where he lived for some time, been there a month or so. the father passed by. did stop eventually, went into the apartment from his car to collect something. while he was waiting outside, we got a chance to ask him some questions. from cnn. i'm so sorry. wanted to hear your story as well. this is a difficult time for you. we want to give you the chance to tell people how you feel about this. we feel we haven't had a chance to hear about the terrible circumstances you're in.

>> my kids never did anything, that's it. >> sir, your sons didn't do this? are you going to america? >> forgive me, sir, i know it has been difficult for you. i'm trying to do my job. i understand. when was the last time you spoke to them? >> sunday morning. that's it. >> have you been in touch with special services here? what have they had to say to you. >> okay, i understand. >> reporter: really impossible questions for any parent to answer about their child. can't imagine what must be going through his head. here in dagestan, people are really trying to work out the why at the moment, what any possible motivation could have

been, if it is linked to this area. i went to the school where the siblings studied briefly, records there show they began in september, 2001, left in march, 2002, and all went to america. that's important, we know that part of the case -- two -- officials say he had a green card. it is possible there are five years we're not sure where he was, was he in russia still, if he was in this area, there was radicalism, time off for the second chechen war could have had influence on him. people are trying to pin that down at the moment, jake. >> nick, the father says he was questioned by russian security forces yesterday. and of course he was released. have we learned anything more about that? >> reporter: i spoke to russian

security spokesperson today, second day in a row, very tight lipped, saying we probably do know some things but we're not going to tell you about them, no comment, to that effect. it is clear in this part of the world, russian security services have a tight grip. accused of tactics, russians appear to have contacted the fbi about tamerlan a couple years ago, suggesting he should be questioned. they of course will have their own inquiries to make. may use this as another example of the war they say they have been fighting against al qaeda militants in the region for years. jake. >> all right, nick paton walsh, let's explore that aspect of the story. the suspects came from a volatile region of russia, they have ethnic routes in chechnya in southern russia. in the caucasus region.

as russia clamped down with sometimes brutal force, what began as a separatist movement became a radical movement. horrific attack on a russian school left more than 300 people, many children, dead. joining me from washington, d.c., christopher swift from georgetown university, an expert on chechnya, and constitutional lawyer. christopher, the brothers came from a volatile region. did ethnic ties necessarily influence their alleged actions? >> you know, it is too early to say, jake. these young men would have been in the region, you know, at a very early point in their lives. i think it is much more likely based on the facts that are developing right now that we're seeing a radicalization process that began in the united states when they were in their late teens and early to mid-20s. that's usually the profile for people who self radicalize,

especially through online forums. >> and what we've learned in recent reporting is that according to national public radio which spoke to the roommates of the older brother's then girlfriend, then wife, he in 2008, 2009 is when he became more radical and started saying that islam was under attack. >> that's right. >> started demanding his wife wear a hijab. this trip to russia in 2012 that we now know about, six months in russia, what interests you about that? what would you be looking for if you were sent to russia to follow up on this, what would you be trying to explore. >> right. there are three ways the self radicalization process works. the first when people do it completely on their own, the second when they do it with a mentor, facilitator, spiritual guide. saw it with the fort hood

shooter in texas and the faisal shahzad example where someone radicalizes, goes overseas for training from a militant group and comes back. if it is one of the latter scenarios and there's connection to the caucasus, that's important. that would be the first time one of the groups in that region have done something outside of russia itself. >> tell us about chechnya's ties to muslim extremist groups. i know from covering -- go ahead. >> yeah, let me dispel a couple things that you'll see reported that maybe don't have a good basis in fact. the chech ands have adopted and any other islamic militant groups have adopted the same ideology, rhetoric, prove gand a as the broader jihadi movement. but the organizational structure is profoundly local, always

focused on their region, to the extent they operated outside their region, it has been against russia itself, never in the global space. so the connections between al qaeda and this local group are primarily ideological, not organizational and not operational. >> all right. constitutional lawyer and chechnya expert, christopher swift from georgetown university. thank you for your expertise. we will be talking to you in the hours and days to come. >> my pleasure. looking for answers in a small town in texas next. we take you to west to see how folks are getting along after a fertilizer plant exploded, reducing the town to rubble. that's coming up. mom always got good nutrition to taste great.

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a war zone. that's how one rescue worker describes the town of west, texas after a fertilizer plant exploded on wednesday. 14 bodies have been recovered. to see how people are getting along, let's go to miguel marquez. what are we learning about possible causes of this explosion? >> reporter: that's still very much under investigation. the bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms is finally getting into the area where the explosion occurred, trying to

determine exactly where it started. they know the fire started in a building they say, but it is not clear exactly what set that off. they know there was anhydrous ammonia present, dangerous in concentrated, pressurized form, there was ammonium nitrate present, which set off the bomb in oklahoma city. it is not dangerous itself, it can be dangerous if you put water on it. ammonium nitrate, if it is smoldering, water is the thing to put on it. it is not clear where the fire started and what turn of events happened to set off this massive explosion. jake? >> miguel, is there a definitive count on casualties? >> reporter: i spoke to the mayor a moment ago. he believes 14 is as high as the

death toll will go. remember nine were first responders who were on the scene. sounds like another three or so were in the factory or in the plant, probably workers there. they found two more in an apartment building. yesterday, there were reports of 60 people unaccounted for. the mayor says all 60 of those have been accounted for. jake? >> thank goodness for that. are there funerals planned for those killed or is that still up in the air as the town tries to pick itself up? >> reporter: yeah, this is the tough part. you know, look, individuals that were killed were very close to the blast, their bodies and remains have been sent to the medical examiner in dallas. they're trying to make identifications still. i think the hope is in the days ahead they will be able to figure out whether they have individual funerals or one mass funeral for some of the individuals there. the other thing going on here is that parts of the town are still closed off. people want to get back in their

homes, survey the damage, figure out how to start their lives again. funerals, investigation, getting back into homes, those are the big priorities here in west, texas. jake? >> and miguel lastly, before i let you go, how is the tone coping? >> reporter: look, they're tough people. they are seemingly coping well. there's a lot of attention and love and help and water and food coming in from around the world for the people here, and they appreciate it enormously. there's a huge center set up for people that don't have a place to sleep now, but there's growing frustration because authorities can't tell when they can get back home. it is not clear that they will be. jake? >> thanks. miguel marquez in west, texas. we talked about the suspects in the boston terrorist attacks. what i want to do now is take a

moment to talk about the victims. coming up, dr. drew will be here to tell us what we can do to heal, how we can help our family, our friends, our children with their feelings about what happened this week in boston. our special live coverage continues in just a moment. [ male announcer ] straight from red lobster's chefs

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welcome back to cnn. i am jake tapper in boston. i am here with don lemon. >> it is very windy out here. >> i warned you, it is like a wind tunnel. >> is that what the hat is for? >> it is for that and to show i am boston strong. even though i am philadelphia strong. but in loyalty, you'll be going to john berman, who somehow fin aig he willed a way to get to a baseball game. >> it is nice to have a lighter moment. let's show people how boston is sort of getting back to normal, take you to the streets. this is fenway park. people are going to the ballgame today as you mention, people are starting to get back to normal here. take you out to not far from where we are, near cop lee square, not far from boylston street, people are getting